Wow smoking and colitis

This guy had just about every med, which did not work. Please don't smoke, but this is insane.
Old Mike
/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29213024

A 42-year-old man, who had stopped smoking almost one year ago, visited our hospital for hematochezia. He was diagnosed as having ulcerative colitis and was prescribed 5-amino salicylic acid and corticosteroids, which led to the remission of his disease. However, the disease relapsed after sufficient continuous corticosteroids administration and persisted despite 5-amino salicylic acid administration and intensive treatment with corticosteroids, immune modulators, leukocyte apheresis, and anti-TNF-α antibodies. Curiously, clinical remission was achieved after he resumed smoking, and colonoscopy revealed mucosal healing. Such remission may be attributable to anti-inflammatory effects of smoking nicotine and carbon oxides

UCinGV said...
I wonder, could someone get the same effect without the cancer risk by vaping?

I wonder that myself. I would much rather vape than smoke.

Smoking is associated with worse crohn's symptons.
Old Mike

This guy sounds just like what I dad says my grandfather went through (minus the diagnosis). Every time he quit smoking he had horrible "digestive issues" including bleeding and urgency. Every time he resumed smoking he was fine. He did have a lot of inflammatory polyps during scopes, but that was all they could ever find.
I use an eighth of a 7 mg nicotine patch every other day right now and I swear it helps, I have to cut them even though they say not to, but I think they do help. My grandmother (other side of the family) who had Crohn's said smoking always made her worse, even if my grandfather smoked in the house.

It's interesting. The one thing to remember for anyone thinking about taking up smoking, is that cases of UC going into remission are almost always in people who smoked heavily int he past. If you're a person like me who had a puff here and there, but didn't smoke regularly, there is no evidence smoking, or nicotine, would do anything to control your inflammation.

xy123, the above would apply to you as a nonsmoker, sorry to say. I am not saying don't try, but smoking is very unhealthy, and UC can be helped with surgery. I would much rather live how I am, after surgery, than have a smoking habit and potentially get lung, throat, mouth, or another cancer, plus with UC, you're still at heightened risk for Colon Cancer.

Just putting this out there so non-smokers don't start smoking in hopes of curbing a flare up.

I'd rather smoke a small rolled cig once per day, if it were effective, and tier 1 meds were not. I'd try it again before surgery. I'd probably do anything but surgery; unless it involved growing a shiny new cloned colon in a lab, and throwing it in there.

I developed uc right after I quit smoking and traded cigarettes for vaping. I still vape and get the same amount of nicotine. So I would say vaping is not the same..I have no plans to quit vaping as I'm finally in remission. Vaping may not be healthy but it's definitely better than smoking.

This is my first time posting anything here but this subject is important to me and I thought it should be shared . I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2014. I went into remission until Jan of this year and I had a horrible flare. I wasn't sure what caused the flare but I had quit smoking three weeks prior so I assumed maybe the stress but I was continuing to vape which had nicotine in it. I was put on Prednisone, Uceris, and Apriso. Within days I was feeling better I continued to be on Prednisone for 7 months. Within days of getting off the Prednisone I started bleeding again . I decided to do as much research and read as many studies as I could. (During this entire 7 months I was vaping )

I found out from several studies that the stress from quitting smoking isn't what caused my flare it was the actual lack of cigarettes! There are many benefits to smoking for those with ulcerative colitis . I immediately called my gastro and he agreed that smoking did 3 things that help ulcerative colitis 1) it suppresses your immune system 2) It causes a mucous in your colon that acts as a barrier 3) it suppresses the spasms . What! I couldnt believe he didnt tell me this to begin with . He said as a doctor he could never and would never recommend smoking and that is why he doesn't tell patients.

Mind you I was still vaping at this time and it did nothing to help at all. I agree smoking can kill you which is why I quit in the first place but in my mind I was so miserable on the toilet bleeding all day not being able to move I had had enough and I was going to try smoking again just for a month till my next colonoscopy and guess what within one week I no longer had to run to a bathroom , my abdominal pain went away and my bleeding stopped completely . I am in know way advocating smoking but people should know that smoking IS saving me from getting my colon removed.

One more note in 2014 when I was originally diagnosed I had quit smoking three months before.